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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Joan Collins & Donald Pleasence in I Don't Want to be Born (1975)

Obscurity factor: 6

This wacky entry into the demon child sub-genre of horror films is more of an unintentional comedy than a horror film. Life is not easy for Lucy (Collins). She bumps and grinds nightly at a cheap London strip joint. One of her routines involves a dwarf named Hercules (George Claydon), who makes unseemly advances toward her after the show one night. She resists and is rescued by the stage manager (John Steiner) who then proceeds to make love to her. Upon leaving the club she encounters Hercules again and he curses her, telling her that she will give birth to the devil. Flash forward, and Lucy is now married to a wealthy Italian (Ralph Bates). She's pregnant and gives birth to a 12 pound baby boy, who begins to cause trouble immediately, scratching her and drawing blood the first time she holds him. The trail of terror escalates when the couple bring the baby home, eventually leading to murder and mayhem.

This film was roundly panned by critics, calling it derivative drivel. It has since found a place in the hearts of people who love campy, over the top, bad horror films and seeing otherwise respected actors in over their heads. Look for Eileen Atkins as the avenging angel, Sister Albana.

Thought it hasn't been released on DVD, you can find it as a streaming title on Netflix and in full on YouTube, thanks to an upload by 70sHorrorRealm. Part one is above.

Obscurity factor: 6 (not on DVD, available on YouTube & Netflix, has developed a cult status)

6 comments:

I saw this film on TCM (as ("The Devil within Her") a few months back and fell in love with it. Saying that it's a "campy, over the top, bad horror film" is a perfect description. It's especially fun in that each actor seems like they're each filming a different movie completely. I recommend it for a silly afternoon of fun.

Bad baby! I wonder how Sister Albana is going to explain that mess...is it I, or does Eileen Atkins seem to be channeling a bit of Ingrid Bergman's Sister Mary Benedict? Great shots of 1975 London. The soundtrack is "mod", and that baby is about as frightening as Little Ricky. Fun!

IMDb has numerous other titles under which this hoot was hawked....."Sharon's Baby" being the most laughable...

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About Me

Every year there are tens of thousands of productions completed and released commercially. This has been going on for over 100 years. Each year there are a handful of them that become touchstones, remembered classics lovingly handed down from generation to generation. These aren't those productions. Featured here on this blog are the forgotten step children of the entertainment industry, films and television shows that started out with the best of intentions, and though no fault of their own (well... sometimes) they've been forgotten and left to languish on the dusty shelves of history. I hope you enjoy the films and television I dig up!
When I'm not digging through the dustbin of lost content I'm one of America's most unique lifestyle gurus - Brini Maxwell.